Rhynchostylis Coelestis
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Vanda coelestis'' is a species of
orchid Orchids are plants that belong to the family Orchidaceae (), a diverse and widespread group of flowering plants with blooms that are often colourful and fragrant. Orchids are cosmopolitan plants that are found in almost every habitat on Eart ...
native to Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam.


Description

These epiphytic herbs form distiched, hard, deeply grooved, arching leaves that are up to 17 cm long and 2 cm wide. The branched stems can grow up to 10-25 cm tall. The 20 to 50 fragrant, white, pink or blue flowers, 2.2 cm wide, are in dense, upright racemes. The spur is flat but the distal half is curved forward.Motes, M. R. (2021). The Natural Genus Vanda. Redland Press.


Cytology

The chromosome count of ''Vanda coelestis'' is 2n = 38.


Taxonomy

The former placement of this species within ''Rhynchostylis'' has been disputed. One study identifies this species as the sister group to all other ''Rhynchostylis'' species on the basis of
Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP-PCR or AFLP) is a PCR-based tool used in genetics research, DNA fingerprinting, and in the practice of genetic engineering. Developed in the early 1990s by Pieter Vos, AFLP uses restriction enzymes t ...
.


Etymology

The specific epithet ''coelestis'', derived from the Latin ''caelum'' meaning the sky, heavenly, refers to the blue floral colouration.


Pollination

Pollination occurs during daytime through bees.Raguso, R. A., & Pichersky, E. (1999). New Perspectives in Pollination Biology: Floral Fragrances. A day in the life of a linalool molecule: Chemical communication in a plant‐pollinator system. Part 1: Linalool biosynthesis in flowering plants. Plant Species Biology, 14(2), 95-120.


References

* * * coelestis Orchids of Thailand Flora of Thailand Orchids of Cambodia Flora of Cambodia Orchids of Vietnam Flora of Vietnam Aeridinae Plants described in 1891 {{Vandeae-stub